Today, the alliance “No a la minería por un futuro de todas y todos” (No to Mining for a Future for All), made up of 12 communities from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, denounced the contamination of the El Coyote River in Magdalena Ocotlán, presumably caused by the company Minera Cuzcatlán. Despite the seriousness of the situation, they point out that federal authorities such as the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) which monitors compliance with environmental legislation, have not responded to the incident.
At a press conference in Oaxaca de Juárez, Ricardo Victor Cosme Aquino, municipal president of Magdalena Ocotlán, reported that on September 24 and 25, authorities from his community and from San Matías Chilazoa conducted surveys in the vicinity of the “San José” mining project, in response to public complaints made by citizens about an alleged new spill from the dry tailings dam. The mine is operated by the company Minera Cuzcatlán, owned by the Canadian company Fortuna Mining, formerly Fortuna Silver Mines. In view of these facts, the authorities noted and documented the presence of whitish-colored sediments and abnormal foam, which changed the composition of the water in the stream.
“Far from respecting, protecting, and guaranteeing the rights of the citizens, PROFEPA favors the private interests of the company Minera Cuzcatlán, since at no time did it approach the affected communities and their respective municipal and agrarian authorities,” reiterate the communal authorities in their bulletin.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that a federal agency has made resolutions in favor of the mining project without technical and scientific information on the real situation of the territory since, in 2018, the same river was contaminated for the first time without any exemplary sanction to the mining company. “On the contrary, the environmental ministry decided to grant 10 more years of operation to Minera Cuzcatlán in 2021”, they accuse.
For all of the above, they demand an exhaustive investigation, revocation of the environmental permits, and immediate cancellation of the mining project, which operates in Valles Centrales “with impunity and without respecting the decision of the communities affected by the mining project”.
Negligencia de PROFEPA ante contaminación de minera Cuzcatlán en Valles Centrales de Oaxaca
